Media Freedom in Focus | Earth Day reflections: Italy’s climate reporting dilemma

As our planet grapples with the devastating effects of climate change, the indispensable role of environmental journalism becomes increasingly apparent. Yet, the right to cover environmental issues remains under siege, not least in Italy:

• In the last months of 2023, articles dedicated to the climate crisis in the main Italian newspapers decreased compared to the previous months. 
• At the same time, advertisements from polluting companies reached record levels, increasing the print media’s dependency on them at a moment of historical low sales. 
• Meanwhile, in the evening TV news, “influenced by the Meloni government's impact on Rai” according to Greenpeace Italy, space for those opposing the ecological transition has doubled.

How can journalists inform the public effectively when the fossil fuel industry has a growing influence on the media platforms? On Earth Day, we confront this question head-on.

Guests:

• Barbara Trionfi, former Executive Director at IPI and current Fellow, is the author of the report Climate and Environmental journalism under fire. 
• Marta Frigerio is the Editor-in-Chief of RADAR Magazine, a media focusing on environmental issues that is a part of Greenpeace Italy’s new initiative Free Press for Climate.

Producer and Host: Beatrice Chioccioli, Europe Advocacy Officer at the International Press Institute (IPI)

Editor: Javier Luque, Head of Digital Communications at IPI

Other episodes in this series:

• Media Freedom in Focus: Untangling media capture in Greece
• Navigating Hungary’s Sovereignty Protection Act – Media Freedom In Focus

Related links:

• New IPI report reveals safety crisis faced by climate and environmental journalists
• Voices for Climate - The first network of voices against greenwashing
• Environmental journalism: pursuing quality coverage of a global crisis

This podcast series is part of the Media Freedom in Focus project, sponsored by Media Freedom Rapid Response(MFRR), which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and Candidate Countries. The MFRR is organized by a consortium led by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) including ARTICLE 19 Europe, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Free Press Unlimited (FPU), the International Press Institute (IPI) and Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT).